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Chapter 271
Target (標的 Hyōteki) is the 271st chapter of manga, Baby Steps. Characters in Order of Appearance *Eiichiro Maruo *Atsushi Taira *Hisashi Kanda *Yoshiaki Ide *Soji Ike Summary Through the recommendation of Ike's coach, Eiichiro tries one of the new features in IMG Academy and meets Kanda. Synopsis Atsushi goes on a long spiel about how training the eyes can affect play, and then the rest of the participants in the vision training session arrive and surprise, surprise! One of them is Kanda whose parents are working in Florida. Kanda asks why Ei-chan is there, and Ei-chan explains the academy is affiliated with STC and that he'd been there before. Kanda attributes Ei-chan's sudden improvement to that previous training and remembers that Ei-chan will be participating in the All-Japan championship. When Atsushi asks if they're friends, Kanda flatly denies it and acts rather hostile. Atsushi tells them they should get along since they're all Japanese. The instructor arrives and Atsushi leaves. The instructor starts with a technical explanation about the eyes. Ei-chan's having difficulty with the English, so he asks Kanda for a translation. Kanda translates and wonders to himself if Ei-chan will be all right. The instructor then proceeds with a battery of tests to gauge the baseline of everyone's eye power. The first test is for peripheral vision: a button lights up on the board and pressing the lit button activates another button at random; they're supposed to keep at it for 15 seconds and see how many they get. The instructor shows them how it's done, then says the top scorers of the various vision tests are listed on the iVision Leaderboard. Kanda gets 13 in the first test, which puts him in the No.11 rank. Ei-chan is amazed, but Kanda says it's nothing special since there are around 20 people in No.11. Then Ei-chan gets 18, which puts him in No.3; he thinks the top score (Pete Gonzales's) is 20, so almost but not quite. They go through the rest of the tests and everyone is astounded by Ei-chan's results (all within the Top 10). The instructor thinks that with training, Ei-chan might surpass Pete. Ei-chan asks what sort of player Pete is, and is told Pete is the same age as Ei-chan and is expected to go pro that year. Ei-chan thinks that with training, he might be able to handle the sort of balls Ike had hit yesterday. Kanda remembers Ei-chan's reactions had been abnormally good even during the tournament, and he thinks he doesn't want to lose. The training session ends. Kanda asks Ei-chan what's next on his schedule, whether it's court practice. Ei-chan checks and realizes he's late for work. He thanks Kanda for his help and takes his leave. Apparently the "Tennis On-Court" from 10:00 to 12:30 in Ei- chan's schedule from Mondays to Fridays is his part-time job. Kanda is left wondering, "Work?" Atsushi scolds Ei-chan for being late, then tells him to hurry and deliver the baskets of tennis balls to courts No.20 to No.30. Navigation Category:Volume 29 Category:Training at IMG Academy Arc